Overflow hot-water tank, preferably with electric heating, for a plurality of tapping places, without floating valve cistern



OVERFLOW HOT-WATER TANK, PREFERABLY WITH ELECTRIC HEATING, FOR A PLURALITY 0F TAPPING PLACES,

wrmou'r FLOATING VALVE CISTERN Filed Oct. 22, 1945 July 18, 1950 P o G. ARIIKLDSEN- 4 FIG IJ INVENTOR BY Q. 5 M

P/EDER VOLAF GTHARD ARALDSENL ATTORNEY;.

Patented July 18, 1950 OVERFLOW HOT-WATER TANK, PREFER- ABLY WITH ELECTRIC HEATING, FOR A PLURALITY OF TAPPING PLACES, WITH- OUT FLOATING VALVE CISTERN Peder Olaf Gothard Araldsen, Sarpsborg, Norway, assignor to Sarpsborg Elektriske Fabrikker, SEFA 'A/S, Sarpsborg, Norway Application October 22, 1945, Serial No. 623,761 In Norway October 28, 1944 Claims. 1

For hot water tanks of the type usually employed having a free outlet, it has been a disadvantage that it has not been possible in an entirely satisfactory manner to tap hot water from the tank in more than one place (yet for bath tanks both to tub and shower with known constructions of cock armatures).

For baths it is particularly important that hot water both to tub and shower and to wash-stand can be tapped from the same tank. The constructions hitherto used are the following:

1.C'ontainer with floating valve cistern Hereby it is possible to tap in an unlimited number of places from the same tank Without the latter being subjected to high pressure. The disadvantages are that the plant becomes too complicated and expensive, and the pressure on the hot water often become too bad, namely when the float casing, as is the casein flat-houses, must be located on the same floor as the tank, 1. e. just above the shower. The mountin of the floating valve cistern in the loft involves the risk of freezing, and the floating valve cistern is in other respects a source of failures.

2.-Tank with additional tap for tapping clown part of the hot water This solution is simple and inexpensive and may be used for several tappin places, but has the disadvantage that the tank'must often be refilled by opening the supply cock. In the case of bath tanks, from which water is tapped much more frequently to the wash-stand than to the tub or shower, this refilling is a disadvantage,

and it becomes still more inconvenient ii there is an additional tapping place, which is used frequently in another room. The tapping down pipe cannot either be taken to a higher floor and can usually not be passed over windows and doors.

3.Tank with an inserted pipe coil under water pressure With this arrangement it is possible to tap in a deliberate number of places without refilling,

even at higher levels, but the construction be- 2 apart from the small quantity which is left in the coil and which wholly or in part is needed for heating the pipe connection to the tapping place.

The present invention has none of the disadvantages set out above so long as it is only a question of one or a few additional tapping places for hot water, as is usually the case.

The principle consists in dividing the tank volume into two (or more) chambers, each having a supply (with cock) from and discharge to one tapping place.

This division may be effected in various ways.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the description following taken with the accompanying drawings wherein portions are diagrammatically shown for simplicity and in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of another embodiment of the invention showing connections to utilizing devices;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of another embodiment of the invention combining features of Figs. 1 and 2; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of still another embodiment of the invention.

I is the main inner container forming compartment A, in which there is a smaller container B, with a wall 2. The tank is heated preferably electrically by an element 3 in the bottom and insulated by an outer enclosure 4 and suitable heat insulating material between the latter and the inner enclosure I, 5 is the cold water supply to a usual valve set shown diagrammatically with cold water cock 6 and hot water cock I. An additional cock 8 of the set conducts the flow of water arising by opening the cocks G and l to shower 9 or bath tub. The tub is not shown in the drawings. In the embodiment shown, the larger compartment A of the tank supplies hot water to shower and tub, and the manner of operation of this compartment per se as described so far, is the same as for common, known bath tanks.

Compartment B of the tank supplies hot water for example to a wash-hand stand [0. The latter is preferably provided with cocks of a (standard) type having both supply and discharge below the stand, so that only the actual cock handles, H for cold water and i2 for hot water, are seen above the stand. The discharge to the wash-stand is efiected through a separate armature 13 in which the cold water and hot water are "container wall) "sired to tap hot water in more places.

mixed. I4 is cold water supply for the washstand.

It appears from the drawing that by opening the stand cock I 2 (hot water cock), hot water is supplied from the smaller container B through the discharge spout l3. Thus in a way two separate containers A and B are obtained which supply hot water e'ach for one purpose. Only one compartment (container A) has a heating element, the other; B, is heated indirectly by heat transmission (convection).

With a construction as shown in Fig. 2 the heat transmission will take place very rapidly. For a 120 liter bath tank of usual construction and a container B for liters and approximately with the relative longitudinal dimensions shown in the drawing, according to simple tests and calculations a heat transmission of 6-7 kw. will be obtained when the difference in temperature is 60 C., viz. immediately after all the hot water in B being tapped out. However, according as the difference in temperature of A and B decreases, the heat transmission decreases. more than proportionally to the difference in term perature. In order to obtain a rapid heating of B after tapping out the hot water therefrom also when the temperature in A is just satisfactory, a large surface is afiorded for the heat transmission. Therefore; a construction according to Fig. 2 will be betterthan one according to Fig. 1 also for the reason that compartment B in Fig. 1 will have a heat loss to the outside and thereby have "a stationary temperature somewhat below the stationary temperature of compartment A.

Yet an embodiment according to Fig. 1 will have one property which may be desirable in some cases. When all the hot water in compartment A has been consumed, and this compartment consequently has been filled with cold water, the hot water in compartment B will 'remain hot for a long period when an insulated tank is used, because the heat is only conducted very slowly downward in water (and the thin After all the water in A has been used, for example for bath or'shower, there is therefore some reserve for wash-stand until compartment A can be heated again.

Some of theadvantages of "both embodiments may be obtained 'by a combined construction as in Fig. 3.

The embodiment shown are particularly suited for a bath with tub and shower arrangement and one wash-stand, but with some modifications even for other "purposes, for example for'akitchen tank supplying hot water to a wash-up 'basin "and to a Wash-hand stand in 'a 'b d O D tioned adjacent thereto or at a higher floor.

However, there are cases in which it may be de- Forgexample there may be a double washgst'and inthe "bath room, or bath and water closet'may ,be-lo- "additional tapping place it is alsopossible to insrt a'tapping down pipe in one compartment or the othen'preferably to compartment B. A-sec- 0nd wash-stand which is connected to a tapping down pipe and which is used less frequently than the first one, will cause little disturbance as regards refilling, which is effected by opening the wash-stand cock I2.

In Fig. 4 there is illustrated an embodiment with tapping down pipe I5, which may be passed to several hot water cocks of any desired construction.

As previously mentioned the tapping down pipe cannot be passed to higher levels than the tank and usually not over windows and doors. In practical cases therefore both these solutions and a solution with three or more compartments in the tank may be used.

As a rule when using tapping down pipes it will be necessary to use a vacuum valve (not shown), because of the drain trap effect of the wash-stand armature and the pipe connections thereof.

Also many other modifications may be con templated for carrying put the invention for various purposes. Thus, the two compartments A and B in Fig. 1 may be made more separate in a thermal respect or even entirely insulated from each other as regards the inner container, and in that case each with one element. An embodiment of this kind is supposed to be less convenient, but as it would have at least some of the advantages described above, also this embodiment is included in the present patent application.

A construction according to Fig.2 might also be modified by locating compartment B somewhat lower in compartment A as shown in the drawings. Hereby part of the hot water in compartment A. (above compartment B) would be reserved for the purpose of the latter.

I claim:

1. A hot water tank of the overflow type comprising a casing, a plurality of Water heating chambers in said casing, said chambers being separated by thin dividing walls, separate means for supplying water to each said compartment, flow control means in each said supply means,

separate discharge means for each said compartment, flow control means for each said discharge means andelectric water heating means in one of said'compartments whereby water in the other said compartment will be heated by convection and heat conduction through said separating walls and whereby heated water may be drawn through s'aid'discharge'mean's from each of said compartments separately.

2. A hot water tank as claimed in claim '1 wherein the said chambers comprise a larger chamber in the bo'ttomportion of said casing, and a smaller chamber in th -upper portion of said casing, and wherein said heating means are in said larger chamber.

3. A hot water tank of the overflow type having-an outer casing, an inner container comprising a large water heating chamber, heating means in said heating chamber, a thin-walled smaller container in said first container comprising a second 'water heating chamber, separate inlet and outlet means in each of said'chambe'rs and separate control means for each said'inletand outlet means where'byrupon actuating said heating means in said larger chamber the contents thereof will be heated and the'contents of said smaller chamber will be heated by convection and heat conduction through said thin walls and whereby heated water may be drawn from each said compartment separately.

4. A hot water tank of theoverflow type comprising an I outer container, an. inner. container 1n said outer container and insulated therefrom,

a thin wall in the upper portion of said inner container dividing said container into a small upper water heating chamber and a larger lower water heating chamber, heating means in the lower said heating chamber, separate water inlet and outlet means in each of said chambers, and separate control means for each said inlet and outlet means whereby upon actuating said heating means in said larger chamber the contents thereof will be heated and the contents of said smaller chamber will be heated by convection and heat conduction through said thin-walled dividin partition and whereby heated water may be drawn from each said compartment separately.

5. In a hot water tank as claimed in claim 4, a vertical extension of said small upper chamber extending downwardly in said larger chamber a substantial distance whereby additional surface is provided for conductive heat transfer between said chambers.

PEDER OLAF GOTHARD ARALDSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 884,540 Thomson Apr. 14, 1908 1,560,528 Baum Nov. 10, 1925 2,012,101 Hyne Aug. 20, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 9396/32 Australia Sept. 27, 1933 98,498 Switzerland Mar. 16, 1923 154,175 Austria Sept. 10, 1938 

